The oldest tree I saw was 2,000 years old. There used to be lots of trees like this in Alishan, but during the Japanese occupation many were cut down. Narrow-gauge railways were built to help transport the wood for export. Nowadays tourism has taken over from logging and the trains carry people not trees.

The Alishan Forest Railway was badly damaged by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and much of it remains closed. However, you can still ride from Alishan to Zhushan (which most people do to watch the sunrise).

I hope one day I can go back and take the train from Chiayi direct to Alishan and say hello to the ancient trees again.